Shaw Wins Oldani Memorial as Schrader Breaks 27 Year Jinx!
by: Jay Hardin

DuQUOIN, ILL (Sept. 4, 2006) - In arecord setting and historic dat at the DuQuoin State Fair Robinson, Illinois' Brian Shaw became the first three time winner of the United Midwestern Promoters Bill Oldani Memorial Modified race when he crossed the finish line ahead of Chatham's Brian Shirley on the "Magic Mile" Labor Day while NASCAR star Ken Schrader broke a 27 year winless streak at DuQuoin in a big way.

Shaw started his WTHI TV 10-Robinson Bowling Centers Pierce modified in the third slot by virtue of a heat race win on Sunday night and quickly moved to the second position. He passed leader Brian Shirley on the third circuit of the 20 lap affair and was never headed as the modified feature saw no caution flags over the entire distance, allowing Shaw to set a new track record for 20 miles of eleven minutes, fourteen and one hundredth seconds, an average speed of 106.823 miles a hour. Shaw's run broke Kevin Gundaker's seven year old standard for the Oldani Memorial.

Shirley finished second, while defending Oldani winner Jeff Parks of Marion finished third. They were followed to the stripe by Matt Simpson and Curt Rhodes.

NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader of Fenton, Missouri realized a 27 year quest for a main event victory on the DuQuoin State Fair dirt mile as he led wire to wire in the Crate American Racing Series Late Model main that was postponed by rain from August 27. Not only did Schrader win the C.A.R.S. event but he backed that up with a win in the Federated Car Care-Southern Illinois 100 ARCA race in the same afternoon.

Schrader set quick time on August 27 and won his heat race before Mother Nature stopped the program postponing the C.A.R.S. feature until Labor Day. Schrader jumped from the pole on Labor Day and was never headed, though he was pressured several times early on by fried and Tri City Speedway owner Kevin Gundaker in the Dagg 52. Schrader's Red Baron Pizza machine crossed the finish line first, followed by Gundaker, Centralia's Joe Cooksey, DuQuoin's Ray Emling Jr. and Benton's Shane Cockrum. One caution period allowed Schrader to set a 20 mile track record for the C.A.R.S. series in the process of 86 miles an hour.

Schrader made his USAC Stock Car debut at DuQuoin in 1979 and it remained the lone dirt mile in the Midwest on which Schrader had yet to post a win. He had won at Springfield in three different race cars, and on the Indiana State Fair mile in four different cars but a win on the mile closest to his home had eluded him. When Schrader won the C.A.R.S. event he became just the twenty-fourth driver since 1946 to post main event wins on all three of the state fair dirt miles in the Midwest. By winning the ARCA race later Schrader became the first driver in thirty four years to win two races on the DuQuoin State Fair "Magic Mile" in the same day, the last Tom Bigelow in 1972 when he won twin 50 USAC Midget races.